The selection this week’s Instrumentals Tuesday is “River Rock” by Johnny and The Hurricanes.The group  had an international hit with their instrumental version of the folk song /cowboy love song “Red River Valley.” In 1959, it went to #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B Chart as well as #3 in the UK and #18 in Germany. The record sold more than one million copies. On the track were Johnny Paris (saxophone) Paul Tesluk (Hammond Chord organ), Dave Yorko (guitar), Lionel “Butch” Mattic (bass), and Bill “Little Bo” Savich (drums).

That old folk song was done by many artists. There are versions, among others, by Gene Autry, Woody Guthrie, Bill Haley, Jo Stafford, The Ventures, Willie Nelson, Slim Whitman, Roy Acuff, The Andrews Sisters, Eddy Arnold, The McGuire Sisters, The Mills Brothers, Riders of the Purple Sage, Tex Ritter, Marty Robbins, Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Rogers, Pete Seeger, The Sons of the Pioneers, Roger Whittaker, Johnny Cash, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Leonard Cohen.

Johnny and the Hurricanes were a rock band that formed in Toledo, Ohio. They first called themselves the Orbits. They liked to add a rock beat to old tunes that were instantly recognized . The tunes were usually credited to “King , Mack” and “King and Mack,” who were their managers Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik. Other charting successes were “Crossfire,” “Reveille Rock,” Beatnik Fly,” “Down Yonder,” and “You Are My Sunshine,” to name a few.

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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